Support offered by school-based teams: experiences of foundation phase teachers in Tshwane North.
- Authors: Mphahlele, Maletolo Lillian
- Date: 2008-10-14T11:24:56Z
- Subjects: shool support teams , training of primary school teachers , inclusive education , learning disabilities
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:12061 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/1180
- Description: M.Ed. , According to White paper 6 all children can learn, should be supported to learn and assured of equal and equitable education. It further states that educational structures should be adapted to accommodate all learners in mainstream schools. Thus if the system fails to meet the different needs of a wide range of learners, the learner or the system may be prevented from being able to engage in or sustain an ideal process of learning. Those factors which lead to the inability of the system to accommodate diversity, which lead to the breakdown or which prevent learners from accessing educational provision, have been conceptualised as barriers to learning and development. A school-based support team may serve as one way of maximizing the participation of learners experiencing barriers to learning and development. The purpose of this study was to investigate foundation phase teachers’ experiences of the support provided by the school-based support team (SBST) and to formulate guidelines for the training of the SBST’s. A case study design was chosen since this would allow for in depth exploration of how foundation phase teachers experience the support offered by the SBST’s. One primary school was chosen randomly and foundation phase teachers purposively included as participants. Interviews were conducted, document analysis undertaken and direct observations done in two foundation phase classes. The collected data were analysed and categorised with the use of the constant comparative method. From the analysis of the data it became apparent that there is little or no collaboration between foundation phase teachers and the school-based support team. It was also evident that the school-based support team lacks knowledge regarding the identification of barriers to learning and designing intervention strategies for teachers to support learners in the classrooms. Lastly, it was clear that foundation phase teachers are collaborating with each other by sharing ideas on how to give support to learners experiencing learning barriers in their classrooms. , Dr. M.P. van der Merwe
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Factors preventing parents from seeking learning support for their children in the foundation phase.
- Authors: Mailwane, Joyce Nthabiseng
- Date: 2008-09-09T08:57:39Z
- Subjects: learning disabilities , education , home and school , parent participation
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:4638 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/997
- Description: The provision of specialised education in South Africa has reflected inequalities from the previous apartheid regime, particularly among the disadvantaged sectors of the population. There have been inadequate institutions that cater for specialised education in some instances and nothing at all in other cases. However, it has been observed that even where there are institutions that provide for specialised education or learning support, parents, and in certain instances educators, do not take timeous advantage thereof. The review of literature relevant to this study involves: the historical development and the understanding of the phenomenon of learning difficulties; the role of parents in the education of their children and in home-school partnerships, both generally and more specifically with reference to the South African context. The study was conducted against the theoretical background of systems theory. Systems theory views the various levels and entities as sub-systems within the larger system, which is the social context. The functioning of the whole, that is, the social context, is dependent on the interaction within and between the ‘smaller’ systems. The family (parents) and the school (educators) form sub-systems, and both of them share the membership of the child. These two sub-systems need to collaborate with each other to ensure maximum development of the child. This study sets out to explore and describe factors that prevent parents from seeking learning support for their children early, when they start failing in the foundation phase. The research question arose from the observation of the tendency by parents to bring their children for assessment long after the children had been experiencing repeated failures across the three primary school phases, namely the foundation, intermediate and senior phases. In most cases, parents brought the children when they were in the intermediate or senior phase, in spite of having had several failures in the foundation phase as well. It was this delay by parents to seek learning support for the children that became a cause for concern to the researcher and prompted an investigation in order to answer the question: What factors prevent parents from seeking learning support for their children in the Foundation Phase? A case study design was chosen in order to explore answers to the question posed above. The purpose of using a case study was an endeavour to gain an understanding of the research question from the participants’ perspective. The case study was made up of sub-cases that were parents of children who all went to a particular school at the time of their referral for assessment of learning difficulties. The data collected through unstructured interviews were analysed using the constant comparative method. The finding that emerged as a major factor that prevented parents from seeking learning support when children started failing in the foundation phase was ignorance of the phenomenon of learning difficulties and what could be done in the face of it. The other factors that were identified related to parents’ understanding of their children’s learning difficulties; their being illiterate; and the belief in cultural issues. Recommendations were suggested for both the Educational Psychologist and educators relating to the need for parent education on the learning and development of their children with specific emphasis on learning difficulties. The role parents can play in partnership with educators was also highlighted. , Mrs. H. Krige
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